ENTERING a trading relationship with an Asian nation is more like a marriage than a business deal.
Such was the message to come out of the Emerging Markets Forum held in Bundaberg this week under the theme of “Identifying the green lights”.
Horticulture growers, processors and supply chain representatives gathered to hear from some of those on the front lines of opening up trade opportunities, particularly with Asian nations.
Each speaker brought something different to the lectern but the underlying word for most was “partnership”.
It was the third in a series of forums which came out of an industry-led need to bolster local agribusiness opportunities following the Australia Day Floods of 2013.
Director of market coordination and strategy for the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) Andre Mayne encouraged industry to work together and target the markets that have already been established but underutilised by the horticulture sector.
He said businesses needed to know exactly what they wanted out of a trade agreement before they began negotiating, and that relationships are everything.
He reminded delegates of the realities beyond the media hype over Free Trade Agreements.
“An FTA doesn’t guarantee access or profitability- it changes the viability of access,” Mr Mayne said.
“It’s a hard game but there are huge opportunities.”
“There is no point in the Department and ourselves negotiating if you don’t have the product.”
He warned against businesses doing a half-hearted effort and the consequences that each failure brings.
“If you go into a market and play lightly, you hurt us, and everybody. If you can’t sustain a market, you hurt us,” Mr Mayne said.
He gave information on the four-pronged approach to developing new markets; capacity, capability, commitment and collaboration.
Austrade State director for Queensland and the Northern Territory Sally Phillips said Australia didn’t own “clean and green” and that the emergence of “good enough” competitors was putting pressure on export destinations.
She said even assuming extremely strong production and export growth, which is not assured, Australia’s realistic overall market share will decline, not grow or remain steady.
The need to position Australian produce as premium and aspirational were key elements to Australia’s future horticulture export markets.
While China has drawn a considerable amount of attention, she urged businesses not to forget or dismiss the United Arab Emirates as a strong export destination.
She echoed other speakers’ thoughts on developing partnerships, particularly with Asian nations, even suggesting growers consider farm stays for visiting delegations to help with their emotional investment in Australian produce.
CEO of Trade and Investment Queensland (TIQ), Andrew Tulloch said collaboration was key to export success.
“It really is a partnership of many different players,” he said.
“We have to be realistic about market access. It does come down to specific products.”
Speaking on the newly signed FTAs with Korea and Japan, group manager of priority sectors for TIQ, Devinka Wanigesekera said export is not for the faint-hearted.
“It’s about partnerships. It’s got to be a committed relationship,” she said.
She said potential Australian exporters need to listen to their proposed customers.
Ms Wanigesekera spoke of a failed venture to export apples to India. She said feedback from Indian clients was that Australian exporters didn’t listen to their packaging requests whereas New Zealand did, establishing a strong market for that country.
For Korea, the emerging short to medium-term export prospects with existing market protocols already in place include macadamia nuts, table grapes, potatoes (for chipping) asparagus, mangoes, lemons and oranges.
The longer term prospects given include carrots, peaches, plums, bananas, pineapples, avocados, tomatoes, apricots, mandarins and kiwifruit.
The emerging, short-term prospects for horticulture exports to Japan include asparagus, mangoes, mandarins and table grapes, with each already having a market access protocol in place.
Potential exists in the longer term for tomatoes, capsicums, zucchinis, snow peas, cucumbers, avocados and melons.
Citrus Australia and Bundaberg-based business Austchilli provided case studies on exporting successfully.
Nathan Hancock, Citrus Australia said forming a solid trading partnership may come down to “drinking a lot and making a fool of yourself”.
Becoming acquaintances and even friends with those who receive the boxes of fruit is very important particularly with Asian countries.
He said Citrus Australia is working hard to protect its Chinese exports and grow the market even further.
“You can’t overstate just how important that market opportunity is to us,” he said.
Austchilli’s Peter Hanigan said trade was as much about selling yourself and a friendship as it was about establishing a unique selling proposition (USP).
He encouraged those thinking of exporting to utilise the resources and agencies available such as Austrade, TIQ, DAFF and government agencies.
The forum also hosted trade and investment commissioner for China, Zijian Zhang, and trade and investment commissioner for Korea, Dr SangMin Woo.
Mr Zhang focused on the success of Australian citrus exports to China, which have been in place for about a decade.
But he said there were growing concerns hindering production such as rogue traders repackaging fruit under fake labels of reputable brands, and poor cold chain facilities impacting on shelf life, appearance and taste.
He said South Africa has emerged as one of the biggest competitors to Queensland citrus as it is of similar quality but cheaper.
The forum was coordinated by the Bundaberg Fruit and Vegetable Growers, the Bundaberg Enterprise Centre, Bundaberg Regional Council, Trade and Investment Queensland, plus both the Queensland and Federal Governments.
